title: Treatment of supersensitivity psychosis with antiepileptic drugs: report of a series of 43 cases.
abstract: Supersensitivity psychosis has emerged as a potential side effect of long-term neuroleptic therapy that may be similar to tardive dyskinesia. Schizophrenic patients with supersensitivity psychosis and considered to be drug-resistant were treated with anti-epileptic medication. Forty-three separate trials were conducted on a total of 35 patients. Over half improved on clinical global impression, some of them considerably. We propose that antiepileptic drugs ameliorate supersensitivity psychosis and so-called "drug-resistant" schizophrenic patients by correcting a pharmacological kindling effect in the limbic system which results from chronic neuroleptic therapy.
authors.affiliation: Allan Memorial Institute, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chouinard
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sultan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants